RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s volleyball team begins its 2013 campaign with three games this weekend in the Golden Griffin Invitational, hosted by Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. The Wolfpack will play two games on Friday, Aug. 30 and one on Saturday, Aug. 31.

State will take the court in its first game of the season on Friday against host Canisius at 4 p.m., before facing Cleveland State in its second contest of the day at 8 p.m. On Saturday, the Pack will take on the Hartford Hawks at 4 p.m. in the first meeting between the two schools.

The Wolfpack owns a 1-0 series advantage against the Griffs, with the only meeting coming in 2003 in which State won, 3-1. Cleveland State owns a 1-0 edge over the Pack in its series, with the Vikings winning the teams' lone meeting in 1983, 3-1.

Head coach Bryan Bunn returns a strong squad for the 2013 season, with only two seniors departing from last year’s team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished in a tie for fourth place in the ACC. The 2012 squad broke the school record for conference wins and also posted 20 wins for the second consecutive season.

Returning is junior Dariyan Hopper, who led the team in kills last season with 325, as well as classmate Alston Kearns, who paced the squad with 451 digs. Brie Merriwether, a senior from Orlando, Fla., is also back after leading the team in blocks with 96 during the 2012 season.